Here I go again, voluntarily hurling my body face-first onto the floor, only to push myself back up, leap into the air and repeat the cycle another 50-something times. What. The FUCK. Was I thinking?

Oh, yeah. I rejoined CrossFit. And those would be burpees.

Because thanks to taking the time off to get married, get pregnant, buy a house and have a baby, my jiggly bits have jiggly bits. Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been, oh, something like 20 months since I last CrossFit’ed. Time to take a deep breath and get back to showing my body who is in charge.

Ahem. That would be me.

As I posted about a few entries back, I started with cleaning up the diet. The saying, “Abs are made in the kitchen” may be a bit extreme, but there is a level of validity to it. After I traveled up to NYC to be the host of my BFF’s Bachelorette Weekend Extravaganza (not what it was really called), I decided it was time to quit procrastinating. At the beginning of May, I paired my diet cleanup with the CrossFit I’d been doing pretty regularly 3x a week. When my awesome coach heard that I had about a month to go before the BFF’s wedding (and hi, the Maid of Honor dress to fit into), he suggested I keep a food journal.

Um, what?

Yep. He wanted me to show him everything I ate, down to biting the head off a gummy bear. He would review it once a week and steer my choices as needed. Whoa.

Now, I’m pretty disciplined at tracking my intake on MyFitnessPal. But nobody sees that. It would be a big deal to not only let someone see what I ate 24/7, but also for me to be 100% honest about what I documented! In the end, I agreed. He gave me my macros breakdown to follow (carbs/fat/protein percentages) and allowed me 2-3 “cheat” items a week. A cheat meant: one glass of wine, a few cookies, or a hamburger bun. It did not mean a cheeseburger + fries + a milkshake = 1 cheat. No. I wish, but no.

I must tell you, going 98% Paleo after that many months of indulging? The first week of detox sucked… BIG TIME. Days 3 and 4, I had a headache to end all headaches and was so tired I wanted to faceplant into a bucket of coffee. Sugar addiction is a real thing, y’all. But the sugar flu improved on day 5 and I was starting to see changes by then. Changes that kept me going.

Flatter tummy. The number on the scale was dropping. Energy returned. Slept better. Wow.

5/26/16

And then there were the workouts. Yes, coming back after that long was brutal. I was sore, constantly for about a month straight. But it got better. And ah, how I’d missed the lifting! There’s just such a damn good feeling that comes with lifting heavy things. You feel powerful. Strong. Fierce. But on the other side of lifting is cardio and the cardio was ridiculously hard to regain. I lagged so much behind all the others in my classes, I was embarrassed. But that’s what I love about my CrossFit home – they only support. They don’t judge. They cheered me on. And when my coach finally one day remarked on how much better my “engine was working”, it made my whole week. I was getting faster, leaner and stronger.

Spoiler alert: I still despise Burpees and Wall Balls with the fire of hell and damnation.

After 5 weeks of this, I managed to lose a total of 10 pounds (while gaining muscle back!) and could easily fit into the dress for the wedding! Too well, in fact. My boobies were the victims of much of the fat loss, unfortunately. But hey, I am not complaining.

6/4/16

Some, though not all, of my pre-pregnancy clothes fit again. Even though I’m not sure I’ll ever fit back into those size 6/8 skinny sheath dresses, I’m back in a bikini and feel pretty comfortable in my skin again.

5/28/16

I’ve even run two 5Ks since the baby – once in January (38+minutes) and again this month (33:39), improving each time.

1/30/16

6/11/16

It’s all about the long game and not immediate, easy fixes. But most of all, the best part is that I feel *mostly* back to my old self. Eight months postpartum? That’s a huge win.

6/25/16

And now? The goal is to keep eating relatively close to strict Paleo, with a few cheats a week, and keep up the exercise 3x a week. Here we go!